Match-safe.



No. 728,027- PATENTED MAY 12, 1903..

' J. W. SELANDER.

MATCH SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1902.

'NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1-.

PATENTED MAY 12,1903: J. -W-. 'SBLANDER.

MATCH SAFE APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1902'.

no MODEL.

m: men's arms 40 PHQTQLITHO, WASHINGTON. 0 cv UNrTE D STATES PatentedMay 12, 1903.

PATE T FFICE.

JONAS W. SELANDER, OF NEW ATHENS, OHIO.

MATCH-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 728,027, dated May 12,1903.

Application filed July 3, 1902.- Serial No. 114,288. No m0de l.)

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, JONAS W. SELANDER, a

citizen of the United'States, residing at New Athens, in the county ofHarrison and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and-use fulImprovements in Match-Safes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention belongs to the class of inventions designated as matchsafes or receptacles and designed for holding matches in quantity andadmitting of one being delivered at a time, thereby placing a check uponthe practice of taking a number of matches at one time, as inreceptacles in which the matches are readily accessible.

This invention provides a holder for the matches of novel constructionadjustable to the length of the matches and adapted to insure thedelivery of a match at each operation of the match-delivering mechanism,the parts being combined in such a manner as to admit of access beingreadily had thereto for any desired purpose.

For a full description of the invention and perspective view as seenfrom the rear. Fig. 3 IS a vertical section about on the line Y Y ofFig. 2. Fig. 4. is a horizontal section of the match-safe on the-line ZZ of Fig. 3. Fig. 5

is a horizontal section of the match-safe about on the line Z Z of Fig.3, showing the relation of the match-deliverer when at the limit of itsinward movement. Fig; 6 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 5,illustrating the operation of the match-deliverer when midway of itsextreme movements. Fig. 7- is a view of the parts shown in Figs. 5 and6,showing the match-deliverer at the limit of its outward movement.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The match-safe comprises a back-plate l and a box portion, the lattercomprising a front 2an'd sides 3 and 4. The box portion of the safe isformed of a single blank bent into the form substantially as shown andse cured to the back 1 by tongues 5 and 6, which are passed throughslits 7 and 8 near the upper and lower ends of the back-plate 1. Thelower portion of the front 2 is downwardly and rearwardly curved, asshown at 9, to form a bottom to direct the matches 10 into a trough 11,formed at the inner lowermost portion of the box. The lower ends of thesides 3. and 4 curve in conformity to thecurved portion '9 of the front;so as to provide a close joint therewith. The box is provided at itsupper end, which is open, with front and side flanges 12 and 13 tostiffen the walls of thebox, provide a finish therefor, and to retainthe matches in place and prevent their ready re- .moval through the top.The side'flanges 13 are extended and their terminal portions form thetongues 5, which pass through the slits 7 and in conjunction with thetongues 6 retain the box portion in place.

The trough 11 at the inner lower end of the box portion of the safe maybe provided in any convenient way and, as shown, is a part of the blankfrom which said box portion of the safe is formed, a portion of theblank being bent to provide the said trough, which is of a size tocomfortably receive a match. A slot 14 is formed in the bottom portionof the trough adjacent to the back-plate 1, and cams 15 and 16 areprovided at the ends of the slot .l t'to-elfect a release of the'm'atc'h-deliverer 16 fromthe match 10 in position in the trough. Thetrough is closed at one end and is open at the opposite end for theready discharge of the matches one at a time.

As is well-known matches vary in length, according to the character ofigniting composition applied to the splints and by reason of thedifferent standards adopted by't'he various manufacturers. In order toaccommodate the safe to the varying sizes of matches, a Wall 17 isprovided at one side of the box and is'adj ustable toward and from aside wall and is held in an adjusted position either by friction orsuitable fastening means. The

adjustable wall17 is provided with a wing 18, which is placed againstthe back plate 1 and pivotally connected thereto near its upper end by arivet or like fastening 19, the lower portion of the wing being widenedand curved to form a finger-piece 20 for convenience of adjustment ofthe wall. The wing 18 comes between the back-plate 1 and the rear edgeof the side 3, the friction between it and the parts being suflicient tohold the wall 17 in the required position. The wall 17 is adjustable bya pivotal movement which is greatest at the lower end of the wall. Thedistance between the upper end of the wall 17 and the far side of thebox is sufficient to receive the longest match, and when shorter matchesare placed in the box the lower end of the wall 17 is moved in to snuglyreceive the matches between it and the far side wall, the matches shouldtheir ends project being evened in their descent through the box.

The match-deliverer 16 is pivoted at its upper end to the back-plate 1,and its lower end passes through the slot 14 and terminates in a fingerpiece 21. A tooth 22 projects from an edge of the match-deliverer andopcrates in the trough 11 and is adapted to engage witha match 10 andforce it out through the open end of the trough or match-exit. Thistooth 22 may be provided in any way and is preferably formed bybendingan edge portion of the plate or strip constituting the match-deliverer.The cams 15 and 16 extend into the slot 14 from the outer edge thereofand move the match -deliverer toward the back-plate 1 when occupying aposition at either extremity of the slot, thereby forcing the tooth 22away from the match contained in the trough. The match deliverernormally tends to spring away from the backplate toward the outer edgeof the slot 14, so as to bring the tooth 22 into engagement with thematch in the trough, whereby said match is carried outward when movingthe lower end of the match-deliverer to the right, or toward thematch-exit. As the lower end of the match-deliverer approaches the outerend of the slot 14 it comes in contact with the cam 16, which moves thematch-deliverer toward the back-plate 1, so as to disengage the tooth 22from the match upon the continued outward movement of thematch-deliverer. When the match-deliverer is at the limit of its inwardmovement or occupies a normal position, it is held repressed, so as tocause the tooth 22 to clear the match in the trough by means of the cam15, this being necessary to admit of proper entry of the matches intothe trough, so as to elfect certain and positive delivery. As thematch-deliverer is swung outward atits lower end or toward thematch-exit it automatically moves away from the back-plate, so as tocause the tooth 22 to engage with the match in the trough and effectdelivery thereof, and as the match-deliverer reaches the limit of itsoutward movement it is automatically disengaged from the match, so as topermit the reaper latter to be easily withdrawn from the safe. Afender-plate 23 covers the match-deliverer and prevents interferencethereof with the bulk of matches in the box, and the lower end of thisfender-plate is bent outward, as shown at 24c, to overhang the trough 11and relieve the match therein of the weight of the matches contained inthe box, a space being provided between the outermost portion of theoverhanging part 2-1- and the curved bottom 9 to admit of the freepassage of the matches to the trough as the latter is emptied. Thefender-plate is provided at its upper end with laterally-extended wings25, which are curved to provide finger-pieces and which extend over thesides 3 and t and the inner ends of the flanges 13, which limit thedownward movement of the fender-plate and hold the same in suspension.Notches 26 are formed in the inner edges of the flanges 13 near theirinner ends to receive the edge portions of the fender-plate adjacent tothe wings 25, so as to confine the plate 23 against the back-plate 1.The fender-plate is of a width so as not to interfere with the lateraladjustments of the wall 17.

The front of the safe is provided with a match-scratch origniting-surface 27, which maybe of any construction and consists,preferably, of a piece of emery or sand paper confined by means of aholder 28, applied to the front of the safe.

In order to prevent the rear projections at the back of the plate 1 fromscratching or otherwise marring the wall or surface against which thematch-safe may be suspended, projecting parts are provided and consistof the following elements: The lower edge of the back-plate 1 is folded,as shown at 29, and the folded portion near each end is bent outward,forming the projections 30, which hold the back-plate away from the wallat its lower end. A wing 31 projects from the upper edge of theback-plate 1 and is rearwardly offset therefrom, so as to hold the upperportion of said back-plate away from the wall.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is-- 1. In amatch-safe, a box for holding the matches in bulk, means for separatingthe matches to facilitate individual discharge, a match-deliverer fordispensing the matches singly and normally tending to positively gripthe same, and a cam to automatically push said deliverer to one side torelease the match when moved to the limit of its outward movement,substantially as set forth.

2. In a match-safe, a box for holding the matches in bulk, means forseparating the matches to facilitate individual discharge, amatch-deliverer for dispensing the matches singly and normally tendingto positively grip the same, and a cam for holding the match delivererout of engagement with the match to be dispensed when at the limit ofits inward movement, substantially as described.

3. In a match-safe, a box for holding the matches in bulk, means forseparating the matches to facilitate individual discharge, a'

match-deliverer for dispensing the matches singly and normally tendingto positively grip the same, and cams at the ends of the movement of thematch-deliverer to automatically disengage it from the match at eachextreme position, substantially as specified.

4:. In a match-safe, a trough at the lowermost portion of the box orreceptacle for receiving a single match, a slot in a side of the troughand having cams at its ends, and a match-deliverer operating through thetrough and the slot thereof, and automatically disengaged from the matchat the ends of its movements by means of said cams, substantially asspecified.

5. In a match-safe, a trough'at its lowermost portion for receiving thematches singly and having a slot in a side of the trough, amatchdeliverer adapted to operate in the trough and the slot thereof,means for disen gaging the match-deliverer from the match at the ends ofits movements, and means for supporting the bulk of matches in the safeand overhanging the trough and spaced from a side of the box to admit ofthe passage of the matches to the trough singly, substantially asdescribed. I

6. In a match-safe, a box having a delivery at its lower end, a wallbetween the sides of the box and movable laterally atits lower end, awing projected outward from said wall beyond the adjacent side of thebox and pivoted at its upper end thereto and having a finger-pieoe, andmeans for securing the wing in an adjusted position, substantially asset forth.

7. In a match-safe, a back-plate, a box portion secured tothe'back-plate, and a laterally-adjustable side wall provided with arightangular wing arranged to come between the back-plate and the inneredge of a side wall of the box and pivoted at its upper end to the saidback-plate and held in an adjusted position by friction, substantiallyas described.

8. A match-safe provided with a trough at its lower end, a pivotedmatch-deliverer opsions engage with the notches of the aforesaidflanges, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JONAS W. SELANDER. [L. s.] Witnesses:

. GEO. O. JOHNSON,

JOHN H. ESTEP.

